Bolo do Caco (Madeiran Garlic Butter Flatbread)

We had bolo do caco wrapped in a paper napkin from a street stall in Funchal, still hot enough that we had to pass it back and forth between our hands, and my husband has asked me to recreate it at home more times than any other single thing we ate in Madeira. It took me a few tries with a cast iron skillet standing in for the volcanic stone the locals actually use, but I finally got it right.

Bolo do caco takes its name from the caco, a flat basalt stone that Madeiran farmers traditionally heated over an open fire and used as a griddle. Sweet potato worked into the dough gives the bread a soft chew and a faint sweetness and orange tint, and the second it comes off the heat, it gets split open and slathered with garlicky parsley butter while it is still hot enough to melt straight into the crumb. Street vendors in Funchal still sell it exactly that way, torn apart with your hands, no plate required.

If broa de milho, pão com chouriço, or my papos secos are already in your rotation (recipes on the site), this earns a spot right next to them, just from a different island altogether.

Bolo do Caco Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus rising · Cook time: 40 minutes · Total: 2 hours · Servings: 6 flatbreads · Calories: ~310 per serving

Ingredients

• For the dough:
• 1 cup mashed sweet potato (about 1 medium, cooked and cooled)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• For the garlic butter:
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and let sit until foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add the mashed sweet potato, olive oil, and the yeast mixture. Mix and knead, by hand or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook, for about 8 minutes, until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down the dough and divide into 6 equal pieces. Shape each into a flat round disc about 6 inches across and 1/2 inch thick.
5. Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. No oil here, these are cooked dry, the way a stovetop flatbread would be.
6. Cook each disc for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, until deeply browned in spots and cooked through. Lower the heat if they are browning too fast before the inside cooks.
7. While the bread cooks, mix the softened butter with the garlic, parsley, and a pinch of salt.
8. As soon as each bolo do caco comes off the skillet, split it in half horizontally and slather generously with the garlic butter while it is still hot, so it melts straight in.
9. Serve immediately, ideally torn apart with your hands rather than sliced.

Recipe Notes

• No sweet potato on hand? Regular mashed potato works in a pinch, though you lose the slight sweetness and orange tint that makes bolo do caco distinct.
• These freeze well unbuttered. Reheat in a dry skillet, then add the garlic butter fresh.
• A pizza stone heated in the oven, or even just a heavy griddle, stands in fine for the volcanic caco stone Madeirans traditionally use.
• This is the bread street vendors in Funchal hand you wrapped in a paper napkin, dripping with garlic butter. Eat it the same way, standing up, no fork required.